Apple Butter Toddy
A digestif is a liqueur served after dinner to aid digestion. Many of these liqueurs contain herbs that reduce bloat from eating a heavy meal. Sherry, vermouth, port, madeira, and brandy are all common digestifs.
An after-dinner drink is also a nice way to relax during the evening. Warm drinks are calming and comforting, which is a great way to wrap up your night.
Apple Butter Toddy
(Pictured)
2 ounces bourbon
2 bar spoons of apple butter
2 bar spoons of vanilla simple syrup (see chapter 2 for recipe)
Dash of allspice bitters (see chapter 2 for recipe)
Hot water to top
In a heat-resistant glass (such as a mug), add the bourbon, apple butter, and vanilla syrup, and stir. Add bitters. Top with hot water and stir. Garnish with an apple wedge and cinnamon stick.
Tuaca is a brandy-based liqueur with orange and vanilla flavoring.
11⁄2 ounces bourbon
1⁄2 ounce Tuaca liqueur
1 ounce port
Build over ice in an old fashioned glass.
Black Stallion
(Pictured)
11⁄2 ounces bourbon
1⁄2 ounce crème de cacao
Dash of cayenne bitters
Stout to top
Add the bourbon, crème de cacao, and cayenne bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into a rocks glass. Top with stout.
2 cups vodka
1 fresh cayenne pepper chopped, or 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper powder
Zest from 1 lemon
Pith from one lemon
3 mason jars with lids
Equally divide the vodka between the 3 mason jars. Add the cayenne to one jar, the lemon zest to one jar, and the pith to the last jar. Seal with the lids. Let the jars sit for 1 week at room temperature, shaking each jar daily. At the end of the week, combine all of the liquids into one jar. Shake and then taste. (Take a small taste as it’s very spicy.) It should have a very spicy taste with an undertone of the lemon. Strain and bottle.
11⁄2 ounces bourbon
1⁄2 ounce walnut liqueur
1 bar spoon of chocolate syrup
Hot coffee to top
Add the bourbon, walnut liqueur, and chocolate syrup to a coffee cup and stir. Top with hot coffee and stir.
Coco Cool
(Pictured)
2 ounces whiskey
1⁄2 ounce chocolate syrup
6 mint leaves
1 ounce stout beer
Add the whiskey, chocolate syrup, and mint leaves to a mixing glass. Add ice and shake. Strain into a rocks glass. Top with stout and garnish with an additional sprig of mint.
Smokehouse
(Pictured)
11⁄ ounce2s scotch
1⁄2 ounce vanilla simple syrup (see chapter 2 for recipe)
Dash of tobacco bitters
1 piece of ginger root
Muddle the ginger and tobacco bitters together in a mixing glass. Add the scotch, vanilla syrup, and ice and shake. Double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of ginger.
The Rusty Nail is an iconic cocktail made famous in the 1960s by the Rat Pack. It uses Drambuie, a whiskey liqueur with a colorful history from the Isle of Skye in Scotland. According to legend, Bonnie Prince Charlie gave the original recipe to some Highland clans in 1746. In 1873, John Ross began making the liqueur and serving it in his hotel, The Broadford, on Skye. It grew in popularity, and commercial bottling started in 1909. According to the makers, the name is a shortened version of the Gaelic phrase an dram buidheach, which means “the drink that satisfies.”
2 ounces scotch
1⁄2 ounce Drambuie liqueur
Build over ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Birch beer is a carbonated nonalcoholic drink similar to root beer. It’s a nice complement to the anise flavor of the absinthe.
11⁄2 ounces absinthe
3 ounces birch beer
Build over ice in an old fashioned glass.
This cocktail was created by one of the most famous female bartenders in the business, Ada Coleman. Her nickname was Coley, and she mixed cocktails at the famous American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London from 1903 to 1926. She could hold her own when engaging with her guests and could trash-talk with the best of them.
She created the Hanky Panky for Savoy regular Charles Hawtrey, an English actor. One day Hawtrey came into the bar needing a drink with a punch to it. Coley mixed up a cocktail featuring three spirits, and after downing a few, Hawtrey exclaimed, “By jove! Now that was a hanky panky.” The name stuck, and it has been a Hanky Panky ever since.
This cocktail features Fernet, a type of Italian amaro made from forty different herbs and spices. Fernet is commonly served after dinner with coffee to aid digestion. It can be an acquired taste, but once you have developed an appreciation for Fernet, you’ll enjoy it in many cocktails.
1 ounce gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Fernet
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass.